ABOUT WEDDINGS BY ARDENIAN

A wedding is one of the most fun and memorable celebrations anyone can experience in their lifetime. However, planning an event takes a lot of your precious time from your busy schedule. It’s important to have the best team behind you making sure that everything goes smoothly as planned. With this kind of event, it is always best to have a team of professionals behind you making sure that a combination of budget, value, and style is delivered and all that matters to the bride is taken care of so that you can enjoy your wedding planning process relaxed and stress-free.

Choosing the right vendor can be a challenge

There are thousands of wedding vendors from every single category, so trying to figure out who is the right fit for you is quite the challenge. This is why having the knowledge to obtain and vet the best vendor is vital for every bride and groom. First, you need to determine the types of vendors that you need for your wedding.

Below is a list of the type of vendors you might look into:

Caterer- this kind of vendor will be necessary for handling foods and beverages and serving your visitors.

Wedding Flowers, Décor & Rentals -responsible for the design and decoration for your ceremony and venue.

Graphic artist- he would be responsible for executing event invitation and posters

Photographer/ videographer- responsible for recording, photographs and preserving the memories of this event

DJ & band- responsible for wedding entertainment

Transportation vendors-they are responsible for transporting the guests when required.

However, you don't have to necessarily hire all the above vendors separately. With the help of your wedding planners, they can have all these taken care of at once. By using their existing list of trusted vendors, they can minimize your research time and accelerate the process of vendor selection. At Weddings By Ardenian we know lots of vendors in the industry, so contact us, and we will recommend some of our favourite vendors in the city.

Below are tips to ensure that you are on the right track when choosing the best vendors for your wedding day:

You need to have priorities for your wedding needs and wants

What is the most important thing about your wedding? Is it location, flowers, decor, music, photography, videography or a combination of all these? Once you have narrowed among the top three priorities, then you can be able to estimate and allocate your budget accordingly and be able to find the right vendors for your wedding day.

Secondly, you need to hire a wedding planner, if you do not have the time to plan your wedding and meet every single individual vendor yourself

To cut on your budget, you might be thinking of eliminating a wedding planner. But trust me, wedding planners have the experience you need to plan your wedding quickly and efficiently. With all the referrals they have and connections, they can be just the right individual to trust on your behalf to go out and hire the right wedding vendors on your behalf. They will be able to give you the best advice you need on venues, and reliable vendor list to choose from. Various Chinese wedding planners will offer you an exclusive package that will cater for all your wedding needs and help you get your wedding planning taken care of, without you having to spend your time searching and meeting with vendors.

During the wedding preparation period, roughly a few months to your wedding, your wedding planner will be your closest BFF. So a point of caution is, you have to choose wisely. Choose someone you can feel close to, may share a meal with and someone you can trust to make decisions for you.

You should ask for referrals from other vendors

Do you have a hard time finding vendors? If you have previously hired a qualified vendor and you are looking to expanding your team, then ask them to recommend vendors that they have worked with, in the past. This way you can be guided to the right vendor who matches your personality, budget and criteria

Don’t get locked in

The venue you chose might have restrictions which do not allow any vendors other than theirs to offer services inside their banquet hall. Other venues might have restrictions that may not allow you to use the planner you want or even a photographer you had already booked.

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Our advice is that you should choose a venue that allows flexibility. This way you will be able to work on your terms, and you aren't prohibited to bring anyone. The only time it's legitimate for a venue not to allow a vendor is if that particular vendor has not done a great job in the past for other clients or simply has a bad reputation of not showing up.

Talk to the newly wedded couple you know

A friend who recently got married has had the experience you are about to have. Ask them about the vendors you should include on your list for your big day. However, take into account that the experiences are different as you have different taste, specific goals, and challenges. The vendors they used may not necessarily be the perfect match for your big day. But in either case, this can help you get on the right track.

Get social

Getting social might be just what you need to find the best vendor for a great wedding. This way you will be able to deduce the pros and cons that fit your budget and needs. Then you will be able to arrange a meeting with several of the vendors. This may seem to be daunting, but when you have interviewed different vendors, you will have various comparisons of the prices, and services that they offer.

Look for vendors whom you share similar aesthetic

You should select the vendor who does what you love naturally, rather than asking someone to do something that isn't their norm or their natural style. Try to find vendors who you naturally get along with.

When enquiring be enthusiastic

An enthusiastic email from a couple is passionate, authentic and full of excitement. This enables the vendor to realize exactly what you are looking for and they will be passionate to work on your wedding with you.

Stay on budget

Your wedding will most definitely cost differently in various parts of the world. So when choosing the best wedding for your fiancé, talk to the vendors, the wedding planners, and photographer before making up your mind. Interview some vendors who can work as a team together to make your day colorful and unique.

You should suggest to a potential vendor how much you can afford to pay for their services, and this way vendors will help you choose a customized list of deliverables to suit your specific budget. When meeting with vendors, be honest about your budget. This way vendors know exactly what services they should recommend to you for your budget and they won't try and recommend you additional add-ons that will exceed your budget. On the flip side if you do have a larger budget for let's say flowers & decorations, let the vendor know so they can create a custom package that will stand out and create a fantasy-like atmosphere in your reception.

While on the matter of budget, be aware of “too good to be true prices offered by certain vendors." You don't want to ruin your day on the account that you were trying to save. Vendors who offer this kind of prices are probably new and inexperienced, and you don't want this picture to be noted by your guests. It is important that you benchmark on the average price that the vendor should charge on the services you need to ensure that they do not overcharge or undercharge you. Choose the vendor whose price is reasonable to the current market rate and according to the list of deliverables. There may be specific scenarios where new vendors that are just getting started on building their wedding business, they may have less experience than already established vendors. In this case, they will let you know that they are new in the market and will offer you lower than market prices. This is fine, as long as you can tell that they are trustworthy and will deliver your service on the day of your wedding. See if you can find some sort of reference or portfolio so that you can get a feel for their experience. As long as they seem like they are trustworthy people, you should be fine.

Choose a vendor who is a specialist at what you are looking for

When looking for a caterer, for example, chose someone who is known for what you are looking for. Be it southern comfort food, upscale cuisine and make sure that your vendor can offer the right package for you. Unless the services are very related, then go with vendors that can offer you more services, this way you can have one trusted company to deal with rather than multiple vendors for related services. For example, flowers and decoration & event rentals are related services, and it's pretty standard that you find these services offered by the same brand. Photography and videography are also related services, and it's quite common that most studios offer both.

View their entire wedding portfolio, not just their packages

When you are looking for vendors online, you can only see the best picture that they have posted there. When evaluating a photographer, ask to see all the photos of a particular event. The full gallery will give you an impression of how the photographer can handle different venues, be it dark reception halls, and places with difficult lighting.

Your wedding planner should have lots of experience in planning weddings

When looking for a wedding planner, you should hire ones that have had previous experience with the kind of wedding you are looking forward to. Wedding planners need to have good time management skills, excellent communication abilities and great people skill since they will be interacting with lots of people during the planning process. Having good financial knowledge is also very useful since they will be managing and allocating your money on behalf of you.

Hire only the people you genuinely like

It is likely that you are investing a lot of money for your wedding, so you should contact vendors that you like. Can you see yourself having dinner or coffee with these people? If your answer is no to this, then you shouldn't book them. Your vendor will be with you for the better part of wedding planning process, and you will be with them for months before the big day. Make an effort to hire people you get along with.

Find customer testimonials or online reviews

Go that extra mile, for instance, if you are in Toronto and looking to hire a Chinese wedding planner, then you should look into their website for client testimonials.

If you already chose a few wedding vendors who you trust. Ask for their opinion if they have good vendors in mind, ask for their referrals.

Don’t miss on their website

The website of your wedding planner is your first impression. For instance, have a look at Chinese wedding planners in your area, and you will be able to determine the quality of their services. What do you look for on their website? Check if the website is up to date; their pictures should be regularly dated, they should have a solid and good design to ensure they remain competitive. They should also display creativity through their gallery of recent events.

See them in action

If you are looking to book a wedding band, make a point of watching a live footage of them in action. This way you will be able to judge how they handle themselves and whether they match with what you are looking for. Their website will talk more about themselves. Browse through the internet and select a few that you like, then you should have live meetings with them and their band leaders, and you will be able to discuss on your music tastes and the sense of comfort level that you need at your wedding. Always trust your instinct while making these decisions.

Book your vendors as soon as you can

There are so many vendors you can choose from to plan your wedding, but generally, the best are booked very quickly due to high demand. Make a point of booking your wedding planner early to avoid the last-minute rush. For instance, go to your wedding planner’s website and communicate with them months early so that you can book the vendors you like and reserve them for your special day.

Get everything in writing and put down a deposit

This may seem crazy but trust me getting a contract is crucial. The contract will help you as a client any dispute in the future. Not to mention that after you have paid the deposit, you will be officially on their books. Keep in mind that all vendors have their own contract that they will ask you to sign, you won't need to come up with your own contract.

Final thoughts

This is a big moment for you, most probably the biggest day in your life. You are about to experience something new, and you want your wedding to be perfect, make a point of seeking advice from the experts and your day will be flawless and memorable.